Saturday, September 18, 2010

But the fans who clammored for him to be fired? Not that anyone cares what Willie Martinez or I think, but put yourself in his shoes. It must be ironic to see the opposing team's players left wide open. Wide open.

Their first touch down? There were two men (!) all by themselves. No Georgia defender around for 20 yards.

For all the attack mentality of the 3-4 defense, we generated very little pressure. I remember one sack. Maybe we got another that I can't recall. But the mental mistakes and poor positioning makes the new defense look downright embarassing. Like we have three fourths of a defense, instead of a complete one with a secondary that knows how to cover people.

The wheel route? Awful. Maybe not open by twenty yards, but no one within five to ten yards.

Finally, when we needed to hunker down, get a stop and at least take the game into overtime, we couldn't get the job done. We give up yet another long touchdown pass.

I know that fans wanted change. Maybe it was time for a different defensive coordinator. But not all change is progress. Georgia looks like it has taken a few steps backwards this season.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Our offensive schemes are too one-dimensional. The other teams have strength and conditioning programs, too. You just can't line up and knock guys around. You have to stretch the field laterally and vertically. Make them play assignment football and exploit weaknesses.

Cordy Glenn still not 100 percent. He lost a lot of weight and stamina when he got sick. He was our best offensive lineman prior.

Mallett is the real deal. This guy can throw the football.

Too much confusion in the off-season to come out firing on all cylinders.

The facts say we lose. I'm hoping that we somehow pull it out. I'm not optimistic.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

He is a big guard. Enough of a handle to play some point guard, but a natural two-guard. He's a legitimate threat from behind the arc, while still having enough size to post up smaller players.

Caldwell's rankings are impressive. Five-star, likely Mr. Georgia Basketball, and a probable McDonald's All-American. Sure, he may not achieve all of his goals for his senior year, but he is in the running for all of the various awards.

And then there's the confidence. Caldwell thinks that he can come to UGA, play as a freshman and distinguish himself sufficiently that he can go to the pro ranks after a year or two.

What's even better for Georgia is that Caldwell wants to be at UGA. He is an early, solid commitment.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Congratulations are in order for Dave Bliss. He is now an assistant of basketball operations for the NBA franchise, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bliss started working for the Thunder in June of 2010, so this information isn't exactly new news. But I just found out about it, so I'm sharing it with the readers of the Blog.

At any rate, I think it's a fantastic opportunity for Dave. He gets to hang out with a an impressive coaching staff, not to mention Kevin Durant, a real superstar already in his young career. The Thunder is an energetic, exciting team, and they will be a powerhouse in the NBA if Durant stays healthy (if Seattle had known that the Thunder would be this good, this fast, they never would have allowed the old Supersonics team to move).

Dave will be right there in the mix. His trajectory toward a high level coaching position in the college ranks, or even in the NBA, has taken a definite sharp turn upward.

If Royal does sign with Tech, it will be unfortunate for us and for him, in my opinion. Tech will get drubbed in the ACC this season. Lawal, Favors and Peacock won't be around, and Tech's offense isn't fluid enough to take advantage of schemes to create easy buckets. Maybe Hewitt can craft his team into a pressing and trapping unit. He'll have to do something, because as it stands now, Tech doesn't have the athletes to compete in the post.

From a recruitment angle, Hewitt has the advantage of talking about the way things used to be. Fox, as a relatively new hire at UGA, doesn't. Hewitt can talk about getting guys to the pro's. He won't have any to go this year, though, and Fox will likely have two first-rounders.

At any rate, if the recruiting of Royal were happening next fall, instead of this one, Coach Fox would have a much easier time.

The key for Julian Royal is not the "used to be" of five or six years ago, but what will happen next season and the year after that. Which team can develop and showcase his skills better. Royal should take a hard look at how the Fox offense creates opportunities for Trey Thompkins, who like Royal is a multi-skilled power forward.

Tech runs a pick-and-roll offense, essentially hoping that their big men can cut to the basket or create something from the perimeter. If you are a big man with vastly superior size or leaping ability, you can do alright. A better fit for Royal is the triangle offense, which will give him back-door cuts, isolations on the block, high post and elbow jump-shots.

In the meantime, somebody please get Coach Fox some tools other than a sheet of paper and a sharpie.

It's tough to read the following quote: “It’s kind of funny, when Georgia Tech came in there, they had an IPad and were hooking things up to the TV set for a fancy presentation … very slick and high tech,” said the elder Royal. “Georgia didn’t have all of that, but it was OK. They got more into X’s and O’s … [Fox] literally brought out a sheet of paper and a Sharpie, and started going through plays.”

I disagree with Mr. Royal. It's not kind of funny. It's kind of embarassing.

I know, each coach has to have a style with which they are comfortable. And I'm sure that the Royal family was very gracious. They have watched the triangle offense in person, and there are probably a lot of other aspects to the Fox recruiting pitch that were rolled out at the in-home and when Royal was in Athens on his official visit.

However, when it comes to deal-closing time, when it's your key opportunity to make a lasting impression, when families invite you into their home to make your best shot, recruits and their families shouldn't be forced to play tic-tac-toe.